I recently read the wikipedia article on "Imprinting" as I was reflecting on the way that early patterns of behavior seem so difficult to change. I went to wikipedia with the question, "Does imprinting ever wear off? Did the chicks ever stop following that guy around?" I didn't get the answer to my question (if anyone knows, please enlighten me), but I discovered an unbelievable story about the way humans have used the principle of imprinting to help birds overcome difficulties resulting from captivity. From Wikipedia:"The Italian hang-glider pilot Angelo d'Arrigo [...] noted that the flight of a non-motorised hang-glider is very similar to the flight patterns of migratory birds: Both use updrafts of hot air (thermal currents) to gain altitude that then permits soaring flight over distance. He used this fact to enable the re-introduction into the wild of threatened species of raptors.

Birds that are hatched in captivity have no mentor birds to teach them their traditional migratory routes. D'Arrigo had one solution to this problem. The chicks hatched under the wing of his glider, and imprinted on him. Then, he taught the fledglings to fly and to hunt. The young birds followed him not only on the ground (as with Lorenz) but also in the air as he took the path of various migratory routes. He flew across the Sahara and over the Mediterranean Sea to Sicily with eagles, from Siberia to Iran (5,500 km) with a flock of Siberian cranes, and over Mount Everest with Nepalese eagles. In 2006, he worked with a condor in South America."I found myself very moved by this story, and perhaps it is a beautiful parallel for what we do as therapists: to re-orient the natural instincts of our clients who may have not learned the healthy patterns they needed early in life. I am inspired to know that there are such self-sacrificing heroes in the world who can help us to navigate our way through a changing world and remind us of our true natures. Angelo d'Arrigo passed away on March 26, 2006 at 44 years of age. Rest in peace.